13 dead as lightning strikes mosque

2012-08-11 14:03

Dhaka - At least 13 people were killed and 15 injured when lightning struck a makeshift mosque in a remote village in Bangladesh as locals were holding special Ramadan prayers, police said on Saturday.

The Imam was among those killed when the powerful lightning bolt hit the flimsy tin and thatch building at Saraswatipur village in the northeast some 200km from the capital Dhaka late on Friday.

About 35 people from the village, which is in the lake district of Sunamganj, were holding prayers known as taraweeh, offered during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when the lightning struck, police chief Bayes Alam said.

"All 13, including the Imam, died on the spot. The bodies and faces of some of the victims were burnt," Alam told AFP, adding that at least 15 people were injured, including six who were hospitalised.

The locals had turned the room into a mosque because access to the village's more substantial concrete-roofed mosque had been made difficult due to heavy rains in recent weeks that have swollen the Saraswati river.

Lightning is a major threat in Sunamganj, home to some of Bangladesh's biggest lakes. Most incidents occur during the monsoon season between June and September when the district receives a huge amount of rainfall.

Comments

zaatheist - 2012-08-11 16:05

There is a bitter irony in this.

jimmy.kawa.1 - 2012-08-11 16:35

somebody has been naughty.

walter.lebza - 2012-08-11 17:00

So they never heard of lightning rods?

Zaid Cassiem - 2012-08-11 22:44

the intelligence displayed in the comments posted here is astounding. so its not enough that people have died? empathy? sympathy? HUMANITY? There's a wonderful little saying doing the rounds at present and you would do well to remember it, IF YOU DIDNT HEAR IT WITH YOUR OWN EARS DONT GO CREATING IT WITH YOUR SMALL MIND AND SPREAD IT WITH YOUR BIG MOUTH similarly since you know NOTHING about ISLAM rather keep your mouth shut. stop being like sheep and believe all that the news and west would have you believe, Is it because they are MUSLIMS, that some strange and wonderous event will be attached? Not by MUSLIMS, i can assure you. There is no MUSLIM who is superstitious. We DO believe in ONE Creator from whom ALL things come. And if you are Godless, so be it, no MUSLIM will come to convert you, for there is no compulsion in Islam. you are on your own path of enlightenment. next time you come across ANYBODY who would convince you otherwise, be sure to quote me and wait for the reaction, Islam has five pillars, belief in the oneness of Allah(Creator) and the messenger(pbuh), strive to perform pilgrimage, perform charity, perform salaah(prayers) timeously, partake in Ramadaan(fasting). far be it from me to question another man's faith/belief but there is no place for extremism or terrorism in Islam, all MUSLIMS know this, anyone behaving differently is on his own agenda. too often you people confuse CULTURE with religion and propoganda with truth. get your heads out of the sand.

solardrius.velandro - 2012-08-12 20:18

The wrath of GOD is clear on these pagans.

cyberdog.breath - 2012-08-13 18:54

"the intelligence displayed in the comments posted here is astounding." - Speak for yourself.
"no MUSLIM will come to convert you" - Then why are you using this tragic event for your minbar? Pathetic really.
"too often you people confuse CULTURE with religion and propoganda[sic] with truth" - Ditto, Yes, exactly. I would lean more to the word indoctrination though, more so than propaganda.
A sad loss of human life, they will be missed by their family and friends.